This is the United Methodist Church located on Main Street in Mechanicville, a small city on the Hudson River in upstate NY.
The name "Mechanicville" pre-dates the advent of cars. People have been living in the area for more than two centuries, and while the first documented use of the name Mechanicville dates to 1829, it is quite likely that people started to use the term around 1800. Thomas Jefferson was President and most people were farmers, but others earned their livings as coopers, masons, carpenters, butchers, stone-cutters, et al.
Independent mastercraftsmen owned their own tools and hired themselves out. Because they were practitioners of what were called the "mechanical arts," these skilled workers were called "mechanics." The term also had political implications because it was used to describe a class of people who, while having a higher status than tenant farmers, did not own enough property to qualify as freeholders and thus were not eligible to vote in elections until the 1820s in New York State.
If you liked this post, consider these:
Woodside Presbyterian Of Troy
Old First Church of Bennington
St. Joseph's Catholic Church Of Albany
Ukranian Catholic Church of Cohoes
First Church Of Albany
What Does Your God Look Like?
Considering that I'm an agnostic, my fascination with churches seems odd. I find their architecture beautiful. I wish they were grocery stores, restaurants, or gas stations so I could get some use out of them instead of just driving by!
1 comment:
Stoy and go inside while driving by. I have been through many churches and wow are they ever beautiful. I am not a practicing anything but every now and them I go in a look around. It's easier at some churches that are open such as the church in Albany they are renovating.
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